Angela Elkordy Principal – Angela Elkordy is currently working towards her Doctorate in Educational Leadership (2011) and inshallah will receive her Michigan State Administrators Certification (Fall 2010). Sr. Angela’s career in the field of education has been a long and successful one. She has been in the field of education for 17 years. She has taught all grades pre-K through high school as well as college, teaching a diverse range of subjects focusing on technology. During her career,  Sr. Angela has worked for the Michigan Islamic Academy, Star International, Universal and Universal Learning Academies,  The Sage Colleges, University of Buffalo, and Washtenaw Community College.  This will be Sr. Angela’s second year at Al-Ihsan Academy and her eighth year as an academic administrator.

 Sr. Angela believes that knowledge is a gift from Allah (SWT) that must be shared. Additionally, she believes that every child can grow and learn. As teachers, students are given as a precious Amana that weighs heavily yet joyfully on teachers’ minds and hearts. She also believes that learning should be engaging, child-centric, purposeful, goal driven and assessed for impact. An effective educator reflects upon educational practices, continuously striving to ensure each child’s success and to building a lifelong love of learning. As an educational leader in an Islamic environment, she is especially mindful of the responsibility and reward of sharing the joys and tenants of our faith and belief in Allah (SWT). Sr. Angela grew up in England. She is a wife and a proud mother of two children: a boy (13) and a girl (12) who are both educated in an Islamic environment. In her spare time, she loves to read. This is her second year at Al-Ihsan Academy. Sr. Angela can be reached by email: principal-alihsan@icd-center.org or elkorda@gmail.com

Zeina Olabi Administrative Assistant – Zeina Olabi is currently pursuing a degree in Business Administration. Sr. Zeina has been with Al-Ihsan Academy since its opening in 2005. Sr. Zeina enjoys working with parents and she says the bond she has built with the parents, students, and the community over the years is priceless. Sr. Zeina has been happily married for 8 years and is the proud mother of two beautiful girls: Aya (6) and Celine (2).  Aya has been enrolled at Al-Ihsan since she was three, and Celine will join Al-Ihsan Academy next school year.  When she is not working or going to school, Sr. Zeina enjoys spending time with family and friends. She can be reached by e-mail: secretary_alihsan@yahoo.com

Manal Ahmad Arabic Teacher Grades 2-8 – Manal Ahmad holds a Bachelor Degree in Arabic Education from Jordan. Sr. Manal has had an extensive amount of professional development in her subject area. Sr. Manal first started teaching in Amman, Jordan as an Arabic teacher for one year, after which she moved to the U.S. where she started working for Tawheed Summer School teaching Arabic and Islamic Studies. She then joined Al-Ihsan Academy as full-time Arabic teacher; this is her fifth year at Al-Ihsan. In her spare time, Sr. Manal loves to be with her family and to travel. She has three boys: Ali, Salah Al-Dein, and baby Abdurahman. She believes that with determination and cooperation between the school, teacher and parents, Arabic will be easier to learn for our children in a foreign country. Speaking the Arabic language will improve their comprehension of our religion and our culture. Sr. Manal can be reached by e-mail:

Arabic, Quran & Islamic Studies: Rajaa Horani

Nehmat Eido Early Childhood Islamic Studies, Quran and Arabic Teacher – Nehmat Eido completed her education in Lebanon in Islamic Studies, Quran, Math and Electronics. She also took classes/training in art craft. Sr. Nehmat started her teaching career in Lebanon as a pre-school through first grade teacher in Islamic studies, Quran and Art for four years. At the same time, she was engaged in creating curricula for an Islamic Summer Program and became the Principal of the Program for one year. Upon her move to the U.S., Sr. Nehmat joined Al-Ihsan Academy as an Islamic Studies, Quran and Arabic teacher. This is her fifth year at Al-Ihsan. While working at Al-Ihsan, Sr. Nehmat strives to better herself and attends any available training for Arabic education. Sr. Nehmat is a great cook; she enjoys spending her spare time with her family and in the kitchen. Her philosophy of teaching is that children learn best when given an opportunity to be actively engaged, she believes that teaching is not only done by using books but by utilizing many hands-on activities in her lessons to capture her students’ attention. Sr. Nehmat can be reached by email:  n_eido70@yahoo.com

Josephine Alawy Second Grade Teacher – Josephine Alawy has been teaching for seven years. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education from University of Michigan – Dearborn. She is certified to teach all subjects grades K-8. Before joining Al-Ihsan, she worked at American Islamic Academy teaching first grade for two years. Before teaching in the U.S., Sr. Josephine taught at prestigious private schools in Yemen for two years. Previously, Sr. Josephine taught first grade (2 years) and the 2010-2011 school year will be her second year teaching second grade. Sr. Josephine is a believer in educating the whole child because she believes that is the only way to successfully teach. Sr. Josephine is a wife and a mother of three daughters, two of whom currently attend Al-Ihsan. This is her fourth year at Al-Ihsan. Sr. Josephine can be reached by e-mail: jalawy80@gmail.com

Wafa Saleh Fifth Grade and Middle School Social Studies Teacher – Wafa Saleh is a graduate of Wayne State University with a Bachelor Degree in English and a minor in Communication, she is currently pursuing a Master in Educational Leadership. Sr. Wafa has been in the field of education for over ten years and has been teaching for seven years. Her certification allows her to teach in the secondary setting. She began her teaching experience as a 5th grade teacher at a local Islamic school and then went on to teach English at a gender separated school. Her principal at the time promoted her to an assistant principal position at a charter school in Hamtramck. Sr. Wafa dedicated one year to dealing with disciplinary issues as an assistant principal but soon realized that she missed being in the classroom; hence, she was offered the job of English Department Head at another local charter school. There she had the privilege of supervising Language Arts teachers in grades K-12 and was also honored to teach a research and analysis class to the senior class. Sr. Wafa’s teaching experience has been wonderful and has allowed her to experience so much. She is excited to be back in an Islamic school setting and environment for this is what brought her the most satisfaction and Inshallah it will do the same for our parents and students. Despite the behavior or choices our children make, I believe that every child comes to school wanting to learn and it is the teacher’s responsibility to make each and every one shine. When Sr. Wafa is not reading, she enjoys spending quality time with her two children who keep her extremely busy. Sr. Wafa can be reached by e-mail:

Nada Alghazali Middle School English Teacher – Nada Alghazali graduated from Youngstown State University in Youngstown, OH with a Bachelors Degree in Secondary Education in Integrated Language Arts with s a minor in Accounting. She holds an Ohio teaching certificate (MI certification anticipated Fall 2010).  Sr. Nada has over 3 years of teaching experience; her career began as a tutor in a high school in Ohio where she tutored high school students in English. She then worked for the Reading and Study Skills Center at YSU as a peer tutor to college students. The focus of the course was to teach reading and study skills. Part of the course was taught using an electronic program to improve students reading and comprehension. Sr. Nada completed her student teaching at Campbell Memorial High School where she taught 12 grade English and Honors English. She joined Al-Ihsan Academy teacher mid- year as a result of a family move back to the Dearborn area. Sr. Nada pursued a teaching career for her love of making a difference and helping children become successful in this world. Sr. Nada believes that every child can learn regardless of their background or educational level. It is her job to find the best way each student learns and use different instructional methods to maximize his/her learning experience. She also strongly believes that each student’s voice must be heard and through meaningful discussions will students learn to become opinionated individuals that are actively engaged in their community. When she is not in the classroom, Sr. Nada is socially active; she loves to spend her time with her husband, family and friends. She also loves to read, surf the net, and travel. Sr. Nada can be reached by email: naalghazali@gmail.com

Patti Picard Middle School Math/Science Teacher – Patti Picard came to Al-Ihsan Academy 4 years ago and has over 6 years of teaching experience. She completed her academic program and student teaching with the University of Maine at Farmington where she majored in Secondary Education in Area Science, preparing her to teach all areas and subjects in Science.  Since graduation Sr. Patti has worked as a special education teacher, one-on-one teacher for special needs children, high school physics, physical science, biology and geometry teacher as well as a middle school science, math, computer technology and art teacher.  Sr. Patti discovered her passion for teaching and working with children when she was a coach in her hometown elementary field hockey team which she coached for 5 years prior to moving to Michigan in pursuit of an Islamic environment for herself and her family. She believes that learning is best achieved through enriching, hands-on experiences that will stay with the children as they move through school.  In her classroom there is an emphasis on personal learning and discovery through inquiry-based instruction and a student-centered learning environment.  Throughout the year her students learn through a variety of experiences including hands-on labs, technology integrated projects and activities as well as service learning opportunities where students take their skills and knowledge and apply them to ideas and projects that serve and benefit the larger community. Sr. Patti can be reached by email: